1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to athletic shoes, and more particularly to a lacing method and system for use in a running shoe.
2. Description of Related Art
One of the problems with athletic shoes on the market today is that there is significant pressure generated on the top of the foot of the user due to conventional lacing. Most shoes have a row of eyelets, one on the medial side of the shoe and one on the lateral side of the shoe. A lace is then strung back and forth in any conventional manner to tighten the shoe. This creates substantial stresses on the top of the forefoot portion of the foot. One attempt to solve this problem is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,342 issued to Derderian et al., which discloses an athletic shoe with an adjustable width, adjustable tension closure system which attempts to relieve stresses on the top of the foot by enabling the user to vary the stresses created at different portions of the foot.
One patent of interest which appears to show a quick lacing athletic shoe is the French Demande de Brevet D'invention No. 2,565,795, which teaches an athletic shoe which utilizes a plurality of D-shaped eyelets. A single side of a lace is strung between the eyelets and is secured by a slot on a retaining device. Although this patent appears to provide a quick lacing shoe, it does not address the problem of localized stresses in the foot, and appears to have the same stresses as associated with a conventional athletic shoe. Shoes and particularly athletic shoes need to be both functional and comfortable in order to fulfill the needs of a wearer. Previous patents have failed to adequately address the problem of localized pressure on the top of the foot.
An object of the invention is to provide an athletic shoe which minimizes stresses in the forefoot portion of the shoe, and redistributes the stresses to eliminate unnecessary stress in the foot.
Another object of the invention is to provide a shoe which is easy to put on and fits snugly about the foot of the user. It is another object of the invention to provide a shoe which allows a broad range of tightening about the foot and provides a quick lacing athletic shoe which maintains tension even when untied.